Mindful Seeing

From mindful listening to mindful seeing…..   We had a great time playing our mystery sound game last week.  It was fun to watch the kids focus SO hard on what the sound was and wrack their brains trying to think of where they’d heard that noise before.  Some sounds were a lot easier (typing on a keyboard) than others (shuffling a deck of cards)!

This week we transition to mindful seeing---that concept of being observant of everything around you.  The lower part of the posterior of our brains have something called the Reticular Activating System----an unconscious filter that decides which sensory input is attended to or ignored.  Each moment of our waking days are inundated with sights, sounds, smells, textures, etc., but we can only absorb a little bit of it at once.  By focusing on mindfully seeing what is around us, we are training our brains to focus on what we want it to, not getting caught up in everything else.

We will be doing a mindful seeing activity with marbles and following it up with a little bit of poetry writing to process what they’re seeing, so it should be an interesting week!  Hopefully your child shares with you ways that you can use mindful seeing in your everyday life!

Mindful Listening

We had a great time last week working on our mindful breathing.  A couple of the favorite “tools” that we used were the Hoberman Sphere (you can check them out at www.hoberman.com) and the Bubble Bear (a fun way to blow bubbles---you can find them at Creative Kidstuff for $6).  Both encourage slow and mindful breathing, a great way to simultaneously slow down the body and brain, allowing for increased focus for the task at hand.  And they’re fun, too!

This week we will take what we learned about using mindful breathing to help us transition to more in depth mindful listening.  Last week we talked about a chemical our brain releases called acetylcholine, which calms our amygdala.  This week we will talk about another chemical that our brain releases called dopamine.  Dopamine is released in the pre frontal cortex when having fun or doing activities that make us feel happy.  When dopamine is released, it helps us focus, remember, and solve problems better.  This is why I like to have so much fun in group!

To practice mindful listening we will have a “mystery sound” challenge, as well as an old fashioned game of “telephone.”  Both activities require students to focus their brains like lasers to discover what they’re hearing.  Try activities like these at home with your families for a change of pace and an opportunity to mindfully listen. 

Next week we will begin working on mindfully seeing.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Mindful Listening and Breathing

We had a great time last week learning about the difference between mindfulness and mindlessness.  It was fun to see the kids get engaged as soon as they made the connection that mindfulness is applicable to their hobbies and interests, not just at school.  They realized that being mindful helps them pass more levels when playing video games, stay in step at dance classes, and win more face-offs at hockey games.  Who knew mindfulness could be so useful?!?

This week we will learn two techniques that are helpful when reminding ourselves to be mindful---mindful listening and mindful breathing.  Calling attention to our breath in the midst of stress and chaos allows a chemical to be released from the pre-frontal cortex of the brain called acetylcholine.  Acetylcholine travels to the amygdala and helps calm it’s flight/fight/freeze reaction, allowing us to calm down and focus.  And that’s why everyone tells you to take deep breaths when you’re feeling scared or anxious!

We will be practicing deep breathing with the “belly breathing” we learned last fall when we talked about anxiety, as well as “volcano breathing” which we practiced when we did yoga.  We will also be using some props---pinwheels, bubbles, and hoberman spheres---to reinforce the idea of breathing in and out slowly.  It’s the difference between blowing out birthday candles and blowing up balloons.  I have to give props to Ann Kilgore, our district’s occupational therapist, as she was a great resource as I planned this lesson.

Next week we will begin bringing awareness to mindfulness and our senses.  More fun!  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  Have a great week!

Friendship Group Update, Week of Jan. 10

Learning about the brain is so much fun!  I just love our mindfulness unit.  We had a great time last week learning about the pre-frontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus.  I hope your child came home excited to quiz you on your knowledge of the brain.  This week we take what we learned last week about the different functions of the brain and apply it to the concepts of “mindfulness” and “mindlessness.”  When we use our pre-frontal cortex to slow our brains down and process information, rather than just react to information, we are being mindful.

In addition to discussing mindfulness, in group this week we will also be doing a mindful listening activity and drawing pictures of our mindful selves as well as our mindless selves.  Next week we will be building on our mindful listening and breathing skills. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Bucket Fillers!

One of my responsibilities at Hilltop is to help develop our school-wide character education curriculum.  I am excited to present to you this month's theme of Bucket Filling.  Below is a letter that will be posted on each classroom teacher's website explaining what we hope to achieve this month.  If you have any questions or suggestions on how we can build on this concept, don't hesitate to let me know.  Have an excellent weekend!

Dear Parents,

This month at Hilltop we are becoming “Bucket Fillers” as part of our character education program.  Based on the books Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud and How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath, we are embracing the concept of filling one another’s “buckets” and making sure our “buckets” stay filled by saying and doing kind things for one another.

Throughout the course of the month we will be working on meeting the following goals through this curriculum:

1. Teach children how to reach out and express love, respect and appreciation to others

2. Help children become other-centered rather than self-centered

3. Help children express their feelings (good and bad) in a healthy manner

4. Help children understand where feelings originate and how to protect their feelings from being hurt

5. Establish a framework for more constructive words and actions and less bullying

6. Create more positive home and school environments

(Taken from www.bucketfillers101.com)

Each week students will participate in creative classroom lessons that will teach and reinforce the concepts listed above.  Additionally, staff school-wide will be watching for students who are filling the buckets of others.  Those students “caught” filling buckets will receive special recognition at the end of each week. 

Be sure to ask your child about how they’ve filled someone’s bucket or how their bucket was filled each day!  It’s a fun and easy way to stay connected to what’s happening at school, as well as a great strategy to try within your own family.  We are excited about the positive impact this will have on our student body and school climate and as always, we thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

The Hilltop Staff

 

Mindfulness Begins! Friendship Group Update...

Happy New Year!  I hope this finds everyone happy and healthy as we embark on a new year and new unit in Friendship Group!  I am very excited about the month of January as this is the month that we begin my favorite unit of the year: Mindfulness. 

For those parents whose children I had in group last year, you might remember the curriculum called “MindUP” which is a product of The Hawn Foundation.  It is a social emotional learning program designed to enhance a child’s self-awareness, social awareness, focused attention, self regulation, problem solving, pro-social behaviors (helping, sharing, and cooperating), and positive human qualities, such as happiness, optimism, and altruism.  We will work our way through the most updated curriculum until spring break, refreshing on lessons learned last year, as well as going more in-depth into content of the curriculum.  Check out MindUp’s website for more information (www.thehawnfoundation.org/mindup).

This week we kicked off our mindfulness unit by learning about the brain.  It’s amazing how kindergarten through fourth grade students alike are completely enthralled by the brain!  We learned about three specific parts of the brain and their functions this week: prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus.  Each of these parts play a role as we train our brains to be mindful.  Your child will be bringing a worksheet home with the brain labeled on it, as well as notes to help them remember the function of each part.  Discuss this with your child and prepare to be amazed! 

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch!